Welcome to the beginning of a new season of Skirmish! The fresh 2022 Blitz scene kicked off in Leeds last week, with Living Realms hosting the first Skirmish event of the season alongside the Battle Hardened tournament. Skirmish Season 4 is the first major opportunity for the Blitz format to establish itself after the release of Everfest, with the release of brand new hero specialization and class cards alongside three new young heroes. Valda Brightaxe, Iyslander, and Genis Wotchuneed break onto the Blitz stage with this season of Skirmish, and with events taking place worldwide, there's never been a better time to join the fun.
For those of you who are new to this event series, Skirmish is our casual-level tournament series which provides players with the opportunity to join their local tournament scene for some great games. Earn XP, win prizes, and have fun with friends.
We'll be bringing you weekly recap articles as the season progresses, alongside feature articles from our guest writers for the fourth season of Skirmish! Check out the first article from Matt di Marco's Elevating Your Game series for some great tips on improving your skills, or read Alex Truell's piece exploring the possible metagame trends to watch out for in Skirmish Season 4. Matt's second article, Setting the Foundation, goes live tomorrow, and you can look forward to Alex's first metagame recap the day after.
The top three appearances in the metagame so far are Viserai, Kassai, and Oldhim, but every single young hero has made at least one Top 8 appearance this week except Genis, and all have been represented in the metagame.
Oldhim won events with Roy Lai, finalist at the Australian National Championship; Wynton Bedford, who won the Pro Quest side event at the Calling Auckland 2021; and Yongji Yang, winner of the Battle Hardened Indianapolis.
Viserai found victory with Jonas Benzarti, Denmark National Champion; Filipe Camacho, Portugal National Champion; and twice with Jamie Faulkner, who won the first season 4 event that ran alongside Battle Hardened Leeds.
Easton Douglas took out a 47-player event in the United States with Iyslander, Nicholas Tan won a 32-player event in Malaysia with Dorinthea, and Cayle McCreath won a 32-player event in New Zealand with Bravo.
Rhinar won events with Australian National Champion Hayden Dale and three times ProQuest winner Barry Teo, Benji won in Germany with Frederic Fuessman, Briar in the United States with Nick Hurley, Chane in the United Kingdom with Jack Hindley, and Levia in Australia with Raeh Power. Lexi made final matches with Kurt Crean, Vincent Graj, and Lukas Miller; Valda Brightaxe with Mark Siew. At one event in the United States, Data Doll and Shiyana both made the Top 8, with Jason Mehsikomer representing Data Doll, and Tyler Barrett representing Shiyana.
Kassai, Cintari Sellsword was represented by winners around the world, many of whom are new to Flesh and Blood; likewise, Kano is once again finding his footing in Blitz, with his fellow wizard Iyslander following behind.
The season is just getting started, and with such a diverse metagame, now is the perfect time to take up arms. If you want to see your favorite hero spotlighted, pick up your deck and head to your nearest Skirmish!
Gaming Nexus - Australia
"The space was abuzz with an almost electric energy of a competitive level event. .....And that was also the day everyone learned to fear the phrase 'I'm rolling the Kayo dice.' Kassai made sooo much copper and actually used it to great effect. Data Doll needs more support, could be deadly, and is a wicked, fun-looking combo deck. Even budget Prism slaps super hard. The speed and proficiency of gameplay was on point and exemplary.
The last game ended at instant speed between Ira and Kano, Ira coming in for lethal with a pumped needle swing from a pretty solid lead of 10 life into our Kano player sitting at 3 health, with a handful of blues and knowing it's now or never... instead of throwing down blocks, our Kano player cracks his optical monocle for an 'opt 2', pitches for 3 to activate Kano, flips a Stir the Aetherwind off the top, pitches for 3, plays Stir the Aetherwind, activates Crucible of Aetherweave, pitches for 3 to cast a Forked Bolt from the arsenal, removes counters from Fyendal's Spring Tunic and pumps it into his Metacarpus Node for a clutch 14 damage, 2 of which was eaten by 'arcane barrier'- but it was ultimately ineffective with Kano burning down his closest competitor to take out the evening!"
Top 4:
1st: Dylan Williams - Kano
2nd: Jarrod Sanders - Ira, Crimson Haze
3rd-4th: Robert Friday - Viserai
3rd-4th: Nathan Gill - Kayo, Berserker Runt
Battlestation Toowoomba - Australia
"Our first tier 1.5 event saw people traveling a few hours in some cases to attend our regional store. Our champion is a local player who has never played in an event above an Armory. Russell lost game 1 to a tough match against Viserai to then go on to be undefeated the rest of the day, including taking out that very same Viserai in the quarterfinals of Top 8. He then went on to beat another Viserai in the semifinals piloted by a very experienced player earning him the local title of 'Viserai Slayer'. Then playing another rematch from swiss in the finals (a Kassai mirror match, no less), Russell came out on top again to take home the entire day!"
Top 8:
1st: Russell Budgen - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
2nd: Freeman Monika - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
3rd-4th: Scott Mackenzie - Viserai
3rd-4th: James Donnithorne-Tait - Oldhim
5th-8th: Jacob Veselinovic - Benji, the Piercing Wind
5th-8th: Joel De Francesco - Viserai
5th-8th: Jack Su - Prism
5th-8th: Charles Nelson - Ira, Crimson Haze
Mr Bill's Collectible World - United States
"Just a solid community of players from all around the PNW. Our little town of Belfair WA surely has a serious player base with a New Jersey Pro Tour qualifying player who call this LGS their home. Skirmish Season 4 is our largest skirmish to date (but not our largest overall event) with 21 in attendance. Final table action pitted Western Puget Sound vs Eastern Puget Sound with Philip "Reid" Parker emerging victorious for the Western Region. Reid makes Mr. Bill's his home LGS and we are proud to have fostered the environment for honing his championship skill set. Not to Mention the runner-up Robert Cartwright who travels from the Seattle area to compete in all our higher experience events with his two sons, Corbin and Alexander. Such a wonderful day of competition for all."
Top 8:
1st: Philip Parker - Oldhim
2nd: Robert Cartwright - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
3rd-4th: Cedar Graham - Oldhim
3rd-4th: Kyle Elliott - Oldhim
5th-8th: Elizabeth Durso - Dorinthea
5th-8th: Peter Sundholm - Oldhim
5th-8th: Michael Rose - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
5th-8th: Skie Weaver - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
Multiverse Games - United States
"Our TO is A-MAZE-ING! Her name is Leah Sammon! While she was running the event she noticed some new players who came outside of the event. She took the time to find them table space and connect them with a regular who wasn't playing in the Skirmish. Throughout the tournament, Leah took pictures, chatted with players, purchased extra packs to give away, helped new players, and still efficiently ran our 2022 Season 4 Skirmish. Leah is a kind soul that dedicates her time to the community in San Antonio. Without her, we aren't sure if our community would have flourished the way it has. We love our TO Leah!
We had several players who are regulars at Multiverse Games. They are the best community members ever! They come and play every Sunday and bring joy into the shop. We noticed that they were welcoming the Houston and Austin players during the event. They shared the best spots for dinner, exchanged discords, and even stayed after to chat with them and learn their play styles. One of them even didn't participate in the Skirmish just to teach two new players!!! Our regulars are the best and the heart of our store."
Top 8:
1st: Philip Torres - Oldhim
2nd: Ryan Youngquist - Iyslander
3rd-4th: Jacob Kurka - Kano
3rd-4th: Joshua Hernandez - Viserai
5th-8th: Dave Cordeiro - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
5th-8th: Eric Lee - Ira, Crimson Haze
5th-8th: Robert Rinell - Oldhim
5th-8th: JP Coleman - Briar
KROLM - Poland
"We fell in love with Blitz again after this season's skirmish. The very diverse meta makes this format even more interesting. Did you see Azalea without a bow before? Congratulations to Adam who deserved to win due to his hard work over the last few weeks ;)"
Top 4:
1st: Adam Adamski - Kano
2nd: Adam Skruch - Oldhim
3rd-4th: Hubert Pszczółkowski - Ira, Crimson Haze
3rd-4th: Marta Rogowiecka - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
Discs & Dice - United States
"Twenty-two players battled it out in the Discs & Dice Skirmish in Troutdale, Oregon this past Saturday. Oldhim, Viserai, and Kassai were player favorites and made up 47% of the field. It wasn't much of a surprise that the Top 8 consisted of 3 Oldhim, 3 Viserai, and 2 Kassai. There could only be one... and on this day Tyler Biggs unleashed the sellsword from Volcor on his opponents. Kassai wins!"
Top 8:
1st: Tyler Biggs - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
2nd: Nathan Dollman - Viserai
3rd-4th: Archer Taylor - Viserai
3rd-4th: Justin Salmon - Oldhim
5th-8th: Tim Chambers - Oldhim
5th-8th: Kristian Larsen - Oldhim
5th-8th: Jesse Valdez - Viserai
5th-8th: Tristen Farmer - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
A Muse N Games - Canada
"There were a couple of narratives on this one. Jay Maillet continued the trend from ProQuest of being the top-ranked player after Swiss, but losing out in the Top 4. Seth also finished runner up at ProQuest, so the question was 'Can Seth grab that brass ring and clinch the victory this time?'
With these narratives in the background, it was great to see most of the players stay to watch the top cut, and support each other."
Top 4:
1st: Seth Penner - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
2nd: Grant Bartel - Kano
3rd-4th: Jay Maillet - Chane
3rd-4th: Dwayne Warren - Viserai
Fantastic Realmz - United States
"Congratulations to all Skirmish players! Travis Winterton piloted Dorinthea against a field of 10 competitors to a win! Audrey Johnson won our People's Champion playmat!"
Top 4:
1st: Travis Winterton - Dorinthea
2nd: Josh Foster - Prism
3rd-4th: Derek Dixon - Viserai
3rd-4th: Audrey Johnson - Ira, Crimson Haze
5th-8th: Caitlin Taylor - Bravo
5th-8th: Dustin Baker - Oldhim
5th-8th: Kyle Reeves - Prism
5th-8th: Joseph Taylor - Oldhim
Sushi Knight - New Zealand
"Skirmish Season 4 is in the bag! and what an amazing turnout! 39 Players from across the Wellington Region came to the Hutt Valley to throw down some young hero Blitz action! As well as a Sushi Knight side event Street Fighter 2 where at the end of each round random tables throw down with a 1st edition pack on the line!
Congratulations to Wynton Bedford our Season 4 Skirmish Winner!
We are always so happy to be putting on these events for our community and so much fun was had with an amazing diverse meta!"
Top 8:
1st: Wynton Bedford - Viserai
2nd: Jason Thompson-Sheck - Chane
3rd-4th: Jayden Allan - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
3rd-4th: Ryan Bastion - Rhinar
5th-8th: John Jaurigue - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
5th-8th: Gene Brumby - Rhinar
5th-8th: Lachie Kennedy - Rhinar
5th-8th: Mathew Collett - Viserai